Green Bay, WI – Several lines of auditorium seating and classroom furniture from KI now carry GREENGUARD Children and Schools Certification SM for low-emitting products from the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI). The newest KI lines designated as GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified® include Aria®, Concerto® and Lancaster® auditorium seating and 360°®, Intellect® and Ivy League™ classroom furniture.
These products join 25 of KI's seating products and its Genius® architectural walls, which received GREENGUARD Certification in 2006. To view all KI's GREENGUARD Certified products, go to www.greenguard.org.
"Educational facilities and performing arts venues increasingly place an emphasis on selecting products that are environmentally friendly," says Norman Nance, IIDA, LEED AP, vice president-marketing, KI. "This most recent GREENGUARD Certification provides important validation to specifiers and customers in these markets of KI's commitment to helping them achieve their green objectives."
Aria auditorium seating provides maximum comfort with its articulating back and ergonomic design. The fully upholstered seat cushion provides better acoustics for performance auditoriums. Concerto auditorium seating offers appropriately firm support for long-term seating applications. The counter-balanced gravity-lift seat ensures consistent seat return to the upright position. Lancaster auditorium seating combines comfort with affordability. The unique seat inner-structure of Ultra-Flex webbing provides the cushy "give" needed for comfort.
360° classroom furniture creates a learning environment for the future. Available in a rectangular, round and square top, the entire desk can rotate 360 degrees to allow instruction from any point in the classroom. Light and durable Intellect classroom furniture helps students learn and retain more information, allows educators to teach more creatively, and enables facilities to look more up-to-date. Chairs stack six high and desks stack four high. Ivy League furniture comes in a variety of sizes, styles and configurations in thermoset hard plastic or lightweight ABS plastic.
To achieve GREENGUARD Certification, products must undergo a series of demanding tests to verify the products meet GEI's standards for low chemical emissions. GREENGUARD Certified products must complete quarterly testing to ensure they maintain low emitting status.
GREENGUARD Certification is a referenced standard in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System™. LEED® is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. By selecting GREENGUARD Certified furniture, builders can earn valuable points toward receiving project certification under the LEED for Commercial Interiors program.
GEI's methodology for testing and certifying furniture uses the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Technology Verification Program. Realistic, worst-case configurations of a product's components and materials are developed and placed in environmental testing chambers.
GEI is an industry-independent, non-profit organization that oversees the GREENGUARD Certification Program. As an ANSI Authorized Standards Developer, GEI establishes acceptable indoor air standards for indoor products, environments and buildings. GEI's mission is to improve public health and quality of life through programs that improve indoor air.
KI manufactures innovative furniture and wall system solutions for college and university, K-12, healthcare, government and corporate markets. The employee-owned company is headquartered in Green Bay, WI, and operates sales offices and manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. KI tailors products and service solutions to the specific needs of each customer through its unique "Market of One" customer service and manufacturing philosophy. For more information, visit www.ki.com.